All Aboard!

Beaumont opens new Amtrak station

The new Amtrak station welcomed its first Sunset Limited bound for New Orleans on Friday, Sept 14. The station features a new platform, a covered waiting area, rest rooms and a police substation.

Amtrak completed the construction of the station at 2555 W. Cedar St. in January of this year. It was built to Amtrak’s standard for low-use stops. The Sunshine Limited passes through Beaumont six days a week. On Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, travellers may board the train at 2:05 p.m. and arrive in New Orleans at 9:40 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, passengers board the westbound train from New Orleans at 3:48 p.m. The westbound Sunset Limited continues, making stops in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and arrives in Los Angeles almost two days later at 5:35 a.m.

Mayor Becky Ames was on hand for the official grand opening with other civic and business leaders and hailed the new facility for boosting the city’s image with those arriving by train.

The new station is on a four-acre site that was purchased by the city of Beaumont. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act provided Amtrak with funding for the construction of the station. Beaumont funded the construction of the police substation at a cost of $289,000.

Tickets and reservation for rail travel may be secured through Amtrak’s Web site.

Property Management

Creel Investments and Keller Williams announce partnership

Darren Creel of Creel Investments and his team have joined ranks with Kathy Cleveland at Keller Williams Beaumont to form Keller Williams Rental Services, a residential property management company.

Darren Creel is a former Army military police officer and former Beaumont Police officer who has been investing in real estate since 1993 and formed Creel Investments in 1995.

In October 2009, Kathy Cleveland purchased Keller Williams Realty in Beaumont. Earlier this year, she opened two other offices, one in Port Neches and another in Lumberton. Currently, over 70 agents are licensed and working at any one of the Keller Williams offices. As a company who is constantly expanding, Keller Williams is pleased to now be affiliated with Creel Investments property management.

“In property management, your integrity is all you have going for you at the end of the day. We work hard to ensure that our integrity is as high as possible every single day,” said Creel. Their property management and maintenance team manages more than 800 properties in the Golden Triangle Area.

“When the opportunity came to join a group like Keller Williams with its high standards of customer service and the friendly and capable team that works with Kathy Cleveland, we jumped at the chance,” added Creel.

Creel Investments will continue to work out of its Beaumont office as the main headquarters and also has an office in Port Neches, and has announced the opening of a new office in Lumberton with Keller Williams.

high as possible every single day,” said Creel. Their property management and maintenance team manages more than 800 properties in the Golden Triangle Area.
“When the opportunity came to join a group like Keller Williams with its high standards of customer service and the friendly and capable team that works with Kathy Cleveland, we jumped at the chance,” added Creel.
Creel Investments will continue to work out of its Beaumont office as the main headquarters and also has an office in Port Neches, and has announced the opening of a new office in Lumberton with Keller Williams.

Business Journal editor James Shannon offers a weekly column of business news for readers of The Examiner. For more details, see the editions of the Business journal published monthly in Beaumont, Port Arthur and Greater Orange. Check out the blog at setxbiz.blogspot.com or e-mail james@beaumontbusinessjournal.com.